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Why Won’t You Dump Your BlackBerry For An Iphone?

I am sure that everyone is going to be talking about the iPhone SDK for some time to come and and certainly the doom and gloomers that think that the BlackBerry is about to go the way of the Palm Pilot. I know, for a fact, however, that many a BlackBerry user is just as hooked on their BlackBerry as much as iPod users or hooked on their iPods and they simply won’t switch because they love the things so much.

There is no way that RIMarkable could have survived for 4 years if the BlackBerry didn’t have an awfully strong following and I just don’t see tens of millions of BlackBerry users dumping there devices simply because you will be able to get email from Exchange pushed to the iPhone 4-6 months or so from now.

Initially this post was going to be a top 10 list why most BlackBerry users won’t be switching any time soon, however, I couldn’t narrow the list down. So many RIMarkable readers send me emails every day about why the BlackBerry is for them that even if I could narrow the list down, it just wouldn’t seem right to do so.

That being said, I’ve decided to pose the question to the BlackBerry faithful.

Why won’t you dump your BlackBerry for an iPhone?

I know that some BlackBerry users will switch. Some BlackBerry users already have. To quote from a Heath Ledger movie, however, many BlackBerry users feel that the iPhone has “been weighed, the iPhone been measured, and the iPhone has been found wanting.”

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But people’s habits are hard to break; many love their BBs with good reason.

There’s the physical keyboard, which to me is a total must have for power email usage. Perhaps in the future the virtual keyboard will be perfected, and it’s amazingly good on the iPhone, but for banging out loads of email the physical keyboard has yet to be topped.

There’s the security features as well. Many BBs are used by govt and industry and need a high degree of security.

There’s also the cost factor. Businesses do not like to switch unless there is a compelling reason to absorb the cost. As long as the entrenched BB meets their needs, they will keep using it, even if the iPhone is better.

I also think there is the fact that businesses may be reluctant to furnish their employees with a phone with so many fun features on it. Many will not want to give their employees devices whereby the employee can listen to music, watch videos, etc. And yes, I know the BBs can do that now, but not nearly as well…many corporate types probably still don’t know their 88xx series can do that.

That all being said, the iPhone will be a draw among smaller to medium sized businesses, and among executives. If the apps developed can offer compelling reasons to switch, then RIM may have some real competition in this segment. For instance, the gorgeous screen of the iPhone is unrivaled right now; enterprise apps that take advantage of that may give the device an edge in some markets. I already know some who use the iPhone because of its great ability to show off pictures of products.

All in all, it’s great for us consumers, who will only see our options get better and better with time.

My Curve is the first smartphone I’ve had and the only reason I have it and not the iPhone is because the iPhone is in its first generation. When the 3G + GPS become standard on the iPhone I’m probably dumping the Blackberry, not that it hasn’t been good to me, but because I’m more of a surfer than email guy.

My wife on the otherhand will probably keep her Curve forever and not deal with the iPhone.

My 8320 (Curve) is also my first Smartphone I’ve ever had, and I treasure it. When I first saw the iPhone I thought “that’s a nice toy” where as with my BB I feel like I have the power of a laptop in my pocket. It has saved me heaps of time several times, and I doubt I’ll need to ever switch to an iPhone, because BlackBerrys too will keep getting better.

Robb, I’m not quite sure putting RIMarkable in the middle of RIM’s biggest nightmare is such a smart idea. One only needs to watch yesterdays keynote, and have some smarts about Apple, the iPhone and it’s new Enterprise partners to know RIM is in deep sh*t.

It’s really not a fair fight to compare the two though. RIM’s BES/BIS solution is being clearly pointed out and proven as a extra, yet not needed step or expense with MS Exchange technology. RIM’s BB devices which are smartphones, yet the iPhone is a handheld computer with it’s own platform and now a SDK for developers to simply write both entertainment and business APP’s.

Less than 24 hours ago the world learned RIM is in deep sh*t, like to think at least some/most RIMarkable folk are smart enough, and won’t let fanboy urges distort and spin the iPhone’s latest developments and fail to discuss reality.

Thanks for the concern, but, I think don’t think there is any reason to be. This site underneath the really bad design and way too many categories is primarily about the opinions that I have about the best mobile device I’ve ever owned.

As you know my opinions are subject to change on a dime and I’ve even been known to talk out of both sides of my mouth a time or two, however, I am steadfast in my opinion that Exchange push on the current iPhone won’t hurt RIM, but, the other hardware manufacturers.

I am not knocking the iPhone or how it has turned the consumer mobile phone market on it’s head. With all due respect to Apple, however, the corporate world is a different place, and quite honestly, Apple has really struggled in the corporate world as a company.

There was a reason Apple changed their name from Apple Computer. I am just not ready to make the jump that because Apple has come out with a really cool phone, they are now somehow ready to take over a corporate market competing against a device that has users as insanely in love with it as does Apple’s own beloved Macintosh computers.

To think that the game is somehow over simply because the iPhone is cool and everyone really likes it is the same type of thinking that has the Mac up to about 10% market share right now and I am rounding that number up generously.

Apple has made it’s move. Before we rush to judgment about dumping all of our RIM stock (RIMM) let’s see what RIM does. I am not foolish enough to say that Apple will not eventually end up on top. Time can only tell. I can say, however, with complete confidence that they surely aren’t on top today, won’t be on top tomorrow, and won’t get to the top any time in the near foreseeable future.

I’ll keep my blackberry for now. ATT’s network is unreliable in my area so it’s a non-starter right there. Push email is another big reason. While I prefer the physical keyboard, I could live with the touchscreen. The iphone not having a removable battery bothers me a bit too. Long story short, I won’t even consider it until I can buy it on a different network, but will compare them closely once it is. fwiw I’m a business user on BIS.

I have Blackberry 8830 now from Sprint. I returned my iPhone only because AT&T wouldn’t offer data-only plan for the deaf community… we have NO use for voice minutes, yet we are forced to pay for something we can’t use.

That said, I do love my Blackberry 8830’s keyboard. I wish Sprint had BB Curve so I can get GPS AND Camera.

3G on BB is a joke. It’s not faster than iPhone with EDGE.

Other than keyboard and REAL push e-mail option (without Exchange) and forced $69 a month plan with voice minutes, I will go back to iPhone in a heartbeat. I want to. I’m waiting. I am willing to trade off my BB’s keyboard for everything else I gain with iPhone. Syncing data is an ABSOLUTE dream on iPhone and my Mac. So easy. So effortless.

Oh, I do like Blackberry Messenger — my friends are on it as well. Nothing like that on iPhone.

This 8830 — I pay $30 a month for unlimited data through special deaf service including unlimited PAM and text messaging. This is hard to beat… for now.

Ding! For every reason you stated and then some. The iPhone, while nice IMO, is more than I really need. I don’t want my cell phone to double as an iPod, and I imagine there’s plenty others out there that would agree.

Hi All…..I just dropped and broke my 1st Blackberry (bought a refurb w/ contract w/ATT 6 months ago) it’s an old 7100 series – worked great – need to replace it immediately, today, in your opinion, is it ok to buy one on EBAY? Also I need to know what model to buy – it needs to be durable, good screen (I surf a lot on it) and be CHEAP! I need to have it shipped today so I would so appreciate it if someone can email me right away at susan@curacaoliving.com with your recommedation for the model I need – care about function – do not care about style or color! PLEASE HELP!

I have already decided to dump my 8830…at the moment for a new Kaiser…but will most likely upgrade further to one of the new Nokia N Series handsets, 2nd generation iPhone, or even the TyTn III if it should ever come out.

The BB is a great phone, but that’s it….the software available for the BB just does not measure up to what is available for Win Mobile or Symbian for that matter. Add to that the outages and lost emails with RIM and the choice to move away from the BB was an easy one.

Keyboard, email, security, not limited to one carrier, ability to swap the battery, tethering. And if I added the corporate side to it: security, tethering, unsecured wireless access, option of no camera, no strong multipmedia iPod functions that distract from work like watching a movie, or the ability to download songs off of iTunes with the corporate credit card (these are things you need to keep in mind when dealing with some folks in the corporate world…as dumb as it may sound).

For personal use, sure, I’d give the iPhone a whirl, but I have an iPod, don’t need to listen to music on my phone, and not willing to shell out all that money for a phone/iPod. With the plans that came out a week ago, I can make all the calls I want these days instead of keeping seperate lines.

I think the type of phone will work for the type of person when all is said and done. People will decide based on need and preference.

Susan Beck,
You can get good RIM BB devices on EBAY. Look at the current model numbers that att has on sale then go to ebay with that knowledge and if screen the product and seller carefully you should do fine at EBAY.

Keyboard – virtual on iPhone
email – iPhone’s got pull and push
security – iPhone’s got that too as previously posted
“not limited to on carrier” – hmmmm you mean like every blackberry “limited to one NOC for all data”?

hellno, you need to be more careful when you say iPhone has pull and push e-mail when comparing it with a Blackberry. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the way you’re framing your answer is misleading. Yes, iPhone has pull. Yes, it will now soon have push with MS Exchange. But it does not have BB-style push e-mail for those of us that want/need it for personal e-mail. There is a difference, and I think it’s fair thing to point out.

See, this is why you get abused, and then you complain that people take personal jabs at you. I post MY opinion, and you voice your disagreement to the point of showcasing your stupidity. So, here I go…

You’re a retard. We all see that, and we know it. You have approximately 25+ people (and counting) who visit this board and can’t stand you, nor your constant crap that you post over and over and over. You DO NOT know how to communicate with the outside world. You have the originator of this board frustrated with your crap, but due to his policy which many respect, he allows you to continue on.

If you’re going to preach that you ‘respect’ this board, post your opinion, and participate in constructive conversation, then start doing so. We are all frustrated by your continuous copying and pasting, degrading services, phones, etc. We got your point. You don’t like VZW, BB’s, nor society. You love iPhones, AT&T, and Teletubbies. We understand.

There’s nothing that you can post that will change peoples minds here…especially when we’re considering the source! You’re track record speaks for itself.

My wife finally gave up on AT&T after dropping a couple of more calls during the week. She switched over to VZW. And if you need to know where we are regarding coverage? Just 20 miles away from AT&T CORPORATE in San Antonio.

Just as it’s misleading to claim the iPhone has no security? Or the misleading claim that the iPhone has “unsecured wireless access”? Or the misleading claim of no ability to watch movies or listen to music on the BB. Or the misleading claim Blackberry’s with Camera’s are not being used in enterprise? Or Perhaps the misleading claim that the iPhone would corrupt some to use corporate credit card to download songs? The troll is right his FUD is as “dumb as it may sound”. Apple is listening to corporations for it’s upcoming enterprise and SDK upgrade. As typical bluehorseshoe thinks he knows better than those involved and what he doesn’t know or understand (which is plenty) he’ll FUD and make up.

You are right the iPhone does not have BB-Style push email, but the iPhone does have push email for those not running a enterprise server. The iPhone also has pull email which is automatic and if set to poll every 15 minutes it’s doing the same in the same time as BIS.

Yet another grandstanding, love me daddy, ignorant, personal, thread crap from RIMarkable’s resident troll. This crap has what to do with the Blackberry?

bluehorseshoe you have yet to learn your opinion and posts are meaningless since most here at RIMarkable know the ignorant mess which IS bluehorseshoe. I don’t care about what others here think of me or my posts based on TRUTH, FACTS, and REALITY. I don’t care about being a blind vealot or a member of the blackberry user group. Your desperation to be part of something, and ignorance to believe the FUD that verizon shovels to the press, and worse BS game play here at RIMarkable shows you for what you are. The TRUTH, FACTS and REALITY hurt some low lifes, those low lifes like yourself use that hurt to attack those posting the TRUTH, FACTS, and REALITY, not the corporation which action’s are making the TRUTH, FACTS and REALITY which you and the other sad few others can’t handle. You are the one constantly having to say your sorry to Robb for your piss poor actions here at RIMarkable when those in the know get you so frustrated and upset by posting the REALITY which shows bluehorseshoe’s constant ignorance and desperate fanboy games.

Ya give what ya get and when it comes to YOU bluehorseshoe there is no end to the ignorance, grandstanding, FUD, and lies which is sadly bluehorseshoe. You’re track record speaks for itself. No one at RIMarkable thinks your thread crapping and you constant use of RIMarkable as your personal toilet is anything but YOUR personal ignorance and assorted other problems.

bluehorseshoe
#24. March 7th, 2008, at 2:47 PM.

@hellno

See, this is why you get abused, and then you complain that people take personal jabs at you. I post MY opinion, and you voice your disagreement to the point of showcasing your stupidity. So, here I go…

You’re a retard. We all see that, and we know it. You have approximately 25+ people (and counting) who visit this board and can’t stand you, nor your constant crap that you post over and over and over. You DO NOT know how to communicate with the outside world. You have the originator of this board frustrated with your crap, but due to his policy which many respect, he allows you to continue on.

If you’re going to preach that you ‘respect’ this board, post your opinion, and participate in constructive conversation, then start doing so. We are all frustrated by your continuous copying and pasting, degrading services, phones, etc. We got your point. You don’t like VZW, BB’s, nor society. You love iPhones, AT&T, and Teletubbies. We understand.

There’s nothing that you can post that will change peoples minds here…especially when we’re considering the source! You’re track record speaks for itself.

bluehorseshoe
#25. March 7th, 2008, at 2:51 PM.

…and PS:

My wife finally gave up on AT&T after dropping a couple of more calls during the week. She switched over to VZW. And if you need to know where we are regarding coverage? Just 20 miles away from AT&T CORPORATE in San Antonio.

Right now it is a moot point. The iPhone developments taht were announced, including VC investment hold future promise. Nothing changes in the near term as far as iPhone vs. RIM. I will want to see the iPhone be the equal or better the BB for push email, calendar, etc, 3G capability and carrier options. Having worked in teh software industry, until yoou have seen it work it is all vaporware.

It’s time Mrs bluehorseshoe to remove little bluehorseshoe’s computer access again for his desperate need for attention and thread crapping. His lies, grandstanding, and problems with TRUTH, FACTS, and REALITY which are very hurtful to him. He’s completely shown everyone at RIMarkable thats he’s nothing but a ignorant troll. It’s obvious to all here that his med’s are not helping his personal problems here or at any other the many other websites he choses to crap all over. Think he also must have messed in his pants, might want to start there.

Aren’t we all…it’s what we have to deal with. In the beginning I used go at it with him, now I try to ignore it except for the occasional here and there…it’s really hard not to respond sometimes when dealing with someone like this. You want to stand up for your opinion when someone attacks it (debating is fine, but attacking?), but then you see how he responds and you know there’s a screw loose.

you wrote: “The iPhone also has pull email which is automatic and if set to poll every 15 minutes it’s doing the same in the same time as BIS.”

We had this discussion in a prior thread, and again, you are not being truthful here.

“The iPhone also has pull email which is automatic, and if set to poll every 15 minutes it’s doing the same in the same time as BIS.” — This is just patently, 100% not true. 15-minute polling e-mail is not doing the same thing in the same time as BIS. BIS e-mails on a bb.net e-mail account are pushed in real time. No 15-minute delay.

I’m surprised after what I thought was our meaningful, respectful discussion that you have decided to keep spreading this false information. And I find it quite ironic coming from you — a person who is so quick to call others out on TRUTH, FACTS, and REALITY. How disappointing.

Both thread crapping, both with a delusional disorder. bluehorseshoe is trying to blame others for his problems and ignorance. jhp2 you’ve been around here long enough to know ya get what you give. bluehorseshoe is a very special case, his constant BS here doesn’t go on un-noticed. “I used go at it with him, now I try to ignore it except for the occasional here and there” Thats a load of BS, this ignorant troll aka bluehorsehoe doesn’t have a back to back post where he doesn’t thread crap or take things personal. this ignorant troll aka bluehorseshoe doesn’t have a back to back post not based on FUD and ignorance. From the beginning little bluehorseshoe started name calling and making personal attack posts because A) he’s too ignorant to accept FACTS, TRUTH and REALITY. B)he’s so desperate for attention he feels the need to play games, grandstand, FUD, and turn RIMarkable into his personal toilet. bluehorseshoe on his own has taken the IQ level of all blackberry users down to that of desperate vealot sheep, hanging on any and every line of FUD verizon puts out. bluehorseshoe is so ignorant he feels anyone cares to know about him or his desperate hopes and dreams, or what service provider his wife uses in a thread about the BB and the iPhone.

Poor little bluehorseshoe living with all the problems he has on top of such ignorance only making it harder on himself when he lets the ignorance and desperation start guiding his way to sh*tting himself both in his pants and the crap he posts here at RIMarkable.

…. just to add to that — the only reason I’m making such a big deal about it is because BB’s e-mail is what made it what it is, and as the iPhone keeps getting more and more advanced, it is increasingly one of BB’s only advantages (a totally subjective opinion, by the way, so please let’s not make a whole other argument about that!). To downplay or misrepresent BIS is a disservice to readers.

Greg, we had a discussion and as of yet I haven’t seen anything which say’s BIS polls any quicker than every 15 minutes, it’s not instantaneous like you continue to think, as far as what I’ve seen. I’m surprised your continuing to think and spread false information about BIS spec’s and trying to fault others for posting the truth. I think your confusing the push vrs BB’s servers polling for email. Push might come real time, but RIM’s BB servers are not polling each and every email address every second of the day, this is where it is said there is up to a 15 minute delay. Which by the way is the same time the iPhone with it’s automatic pull email takes the iPhone doesn’t need to rely on a single NOC for it’s data. Also Yahoo DOES push email at the iPhone. It’s disappointing that you continue to try to find fault with the iPhone spec’s while incorrectly thinking BIS push is any faster than the iPhone automatic pull email or the iPhone’s built in Yahoo push email.

One more reason, user made SDK apps will be restricted from running in the background. This is how Gizmodo sums it up, “This means every application, from IM to VoIP to GPS mapping, will have to terminate entirely when the user switches out to take a call or change a song. How does this affect you? It means you won’t be a be able to receive IMs unless you’re currently inside the IM app, forcing you to disconnect when you take a call.”

Really makes me want to dump my Curve and my carrier to run out and buy an iPhone today.

Yes we had this discussion many times. What started out as a disagreement became personal when you started taking aforementioned swipes. I responded in kind and you negn to whine about personal attacks. Thread crapping is your latest mantra. It is just as entertaining as your other memes (FUD, Fanboy, CDMA sux).

It do get great pleasure knowing that this timy post wil eat up many precious minutes of your life as you craft your long-winded reponse

hellno, I get e-mails sent to my BB account instantly, in real time. I’ve read documentation that says 15-min polling for POP3s, IMAPs, etc, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the BB e-mail you are given the option of using when setting up an account. I guess you’re just going to have to take my word for it, hellno. I am most certainly not spreading false info about BIS’ specs. You are misinformed, and it does not mean I’m “trying to fault others for posting the truth” because I’m calling you out on something (which, by the way, is something you seem to have no problem doing for anyone that dares not jibe with your way of thinking). You saying receiving e-mail on iPhone’s 15-minute polling is just as fast as receiving e-mail set up on a BIS Blackberry.net account is just not true. Period. I use it every day. And when did I ever fault iPhone’s specs? Where’s that coming from? What I faulted was your misleading interpretation of them when comparing them with the BB. (My apologies to everyone else posting here. I don’t know why I feel especially compelled to do this today.)

You are as guilty as the rest don’t start fooling yourself with self-gratifying BS. Keep on stroking your girlfriend bluehorseshoe you two are perfect for each other.

“the BB is fully baked” alright it’s done and just about over like you and your sad little club of ignorance.

Thanks Greg B “I’ve read documentation that says 15-min polling for POP3s, IMAPs, etc” case CLOSED. the TRUTH was being told all along. Why have you been trying to mislead others into thinking BIS is magical? Whats the next BB with BIS claim? that email comes even before the other party types it and hits send? That would be real handy for those like yourself who feel a 15 minute interval is too long between RIM BB push and iPhone automatic pull email polling is too long. Lucky Yahoo provides FREE push email for iPhone customers. Email is email, Instant messaging aka SMS messaging and BB messaging is better technology when messages are needed in a instant. Lucky the iPhone supports both push and automatic pull email. Both for enterprise and for those not running a MS exchange server.

Yahoo and GMail are true push on BBs. Also the BB email address you get thru your carrier is true push. What Greg B is doing is forwarding his POP emails to his BB address thus creating a push solution. Not that difficult to understand.

That “push solution” you think Greg B is doing by forwarding his POP emails to his BB address are “thus” subject to the BIS ~15 minute polling spec. I think Greg is saying he feels his gregb@mycingular.blackberry.net (for example) is quicker than the 15 minutes we agree BIS polling and pushing takes. Thats “Not that difficult to understand” either. Greg’s argument is as a individual without MS Exchange he feels the iPhone’s 15 minute automatic pull email, and the iPhone’s Yahoo push email is somehow slower than the BIS ~15 minute polling and push email.

Greg B, Guess what? Thats too bad, since YOU have been out of line all day and getting upset over the TRUTH that the iPhone supports BOTH push and pull email and soon will support MS Exchange email. You must face FACTS that your “wrong”.

The TRUTH will set you free, the TRUTH along with Apple’s innovations will also by the way hurt RIM and the BB.

“Keep on stroking your girlfriend bluehorseshoe you two are perfect for each other.”

A bit personal eh? Should I run to Robb sobbing or create a post whining about personal attacks like you?

““the BB is fully baked” alright it’s done and just about over like you and your sad little club of ignorance.”

If that is the case, why are you here spewing? It is RIMarkable, iPhoneable. Clearly by baked, I mean tested and currently working. Not someting that we will see in June. Until Apple releases it and it is proven, it is vapor.And I am no Windows bigot as this was posted using an iMac.

BTW, isn;t there a memorial service for the creator of DnD that you should be attending right now? Just looking out for you.

instantly is faster than 15 minutes, HOWEVER your only fooling yourself since BIS “I’ve read documentation that says 15-min polling for POP3s, IMAPs, etc” is the FACTS and BIS takes 15 minutes or “instantly” in Greg B world. Which in the real world is the rate one many chose to select on the iPhone for automatic pull, to say nothing about Yahoo push email for the iPhone.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/questionsandanswers.html
“What email systems does iPhone support?
iPhone supports the most popular email standards — IMAP and POP3. Check with your email provider to make sure the provider uses these standards. iPhone works with most popular email services, including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, and .Mac Mail. Yahoo! Mail supports “push” email and can automatically deliver new email messages to your iPhone.”

As normal with Apple, there is no “vapor”. There was a device which everyone without knowledge of Apple started to hammer the moment it was introduced to the press a year and a few months ago. The iPhone was introduced to the press and the wireless device forums went into ignorance mode as the fanboys of other devices suddenly were frightened, afraid, and knew the iPhone was about to kick ass.

JHP2 your FUD:
“Clearly by baked, I mean tested and currently working. Not someting that we will see in June. Until Apple releases it and it is proven, it is vapor.And I am no Windows bigot as this was posted using an iMac.” At the very least shows poor judgement and in June as the iPhone yet again proves itself, it will show yet another rightened, afraid, ignorant fanboy.

There is even a tag on the definition of hellno on wikipedia. Hellno – “a moronic idiot who trolls blogs spreading retarded beliefs about issues it doesn’t understand.”

Now, with those FACTS telling the TRUTH, you need to step down, apologize to everyone and stop all your GRANDSTANDING about issues you don’t understand, comprehend, or know.

Ps…we’re talking about phones here. What is it with you knocking everyone who has an opinion different than yours? Are you that demented? I know for sure Robb isn’t going to invite you to the annual RIMarkable picnic.

Uh someone better pull the plug on bluehorseshoe, he’s making less sense and being more ignorant than ever. bluehorseshoe must be feeling the desperation that he made a big mistake downgrading from t-mo to mcwireless, his wife followed, and now bluehorseshoe see’s that his last hope and dream, his beloved blackberry pearl is crippled with features and functions removed by verizon AND with Apple’s recent iPhone Roadmap he knows he’s on a sinking ship with both his provider and BB. He’s so upset he pooped his pants again.

“Ps…we’re talking about phones here.”

“bluehorseshoe
#61. March 7th, 2008, at 8:55 PM.
Hey everyone, I just came across a fact straight from Apples web site…
Hellno is a retard!
Steve Jobs said so. I even have the link!http://www.apple.com/hellno_is_a_retard.htm
There is even a tag on the definition of hellno on wikipedia. Hellno – “a moronic idiot who trolls blogs spreading retarded beliefs about issues it doesn’t understand.”
Now, with those FACTS telling the TRUTH, you need to step down, apologize to everyone and stop all your GRANDSTANDING about issues you don’t understand, comprehend, or know.”

“Ps…we’re talking about phones here.” INDEED little bluehorseshoe now apologize and curtsie to the group, even with your underware full of poop.

PS the RIMarkable picnic has been cancelled the new upgraded picnic will be known as iPhoneMarkable.

as soon as the iphone is on another carrier, i’m jumping on it. have you actually looked at one of these guys up close? SPECTACULAR.

now, i LOVE my blackberry–but it’s going to go the way of the treo in the face of the iphone, unless they break new ground in return. i’ve seen it happen again and again with technology. the iphone is it right now and it will be mine. oh yes, it will be mine. 🙂

I guess I could ask why you would think I am a fanboy. And what am I a fanboy for? Blackberry. Love mine. But I liked my Treo as well. And I am on the record as saying that I hope Apple gets this right. But until we have seen the solution, it is not baked. Not to mention that it is reasonable to expect that I will be a RIM afficianado given this is a Blackberry, not an iPhone, blog.

BTW, have you considered starting your own blog? Perhaps iPhoneable or Hellnoable? Then you could just give your readers the TRUTH as you see it and if they disagreed you could ban them. Just a thought.

The iPhone is a nice device, no doubt. Screen is amazing. However, as a work tool it does not meet my needs. As soon as they have addressed Enterprise concerns (which they seem to be getting serious about), add 3G, tethering and a hardware keyboard, then I can consider it. At that point, I will take a look at the network. It would be great if it was on CDMA so I could take advantage of VZW’s network plus roaming on Alltel and Sprint.

What I think will happen is that the efforts of Apple to reach into the Enterprise will lead to RIM stepping up with innovations of their own. It will likely spur improvements on Windows Mobile. It is going to be fun to watch and experience.

“Then you could just give your readers the TRUTH as you see it and if they disagreed you could ban them”
That childish, thats bluehorseshoe game playing.

BTW verizon cdma is going away, it’s being upgraded to GSM/LTE why would you want a iPhone for a obsolete technology. Lucky you will still be able to roam on Alltel since they have a rather stout GSM network.

jhp2, don’t even bother talking to him like he’s a normal person.I tried earlier, just to give him yet another chance not to be a total ahole, and he failed miserably.He lies, he can’t take anyone having a differing opion than him, and he will make up a ton of self-serving BS and lame jargon to cover for his crushing insecurity. I pity you, hellno, for I know deep down inside you are just as miserable as you make evryone on this site. And please, for the love of God, refill your prescription.

It’s might be better to “be a total ahole” then to be ignorant and spend the day trying to figure out ways the iPhone couldn’t work for yourself with such high made up demands. Your statements about BIS and time have been proven wrong more than once, you have wrongly accused those posting the TRUTH and FACTS as misleading even though YOU Greg have been posting misleading post after misleading post, even ones which go against RIM’s own BIS written spec. I pity YOU Greg, we all know deep down inside the ignorance which is you. And please, learn the difference between BIS ~15min polling and push which is what your BB with BIS give you and the automatic pull and push email available on the iPhone.

He is refering to a block of GSM they received as part of the Western Wireless deal. However, the only network they offer to customers is their large CDMA network. They combine that with great custome service which is why they finished at the top, with VZW in the Consumer Reports survey on wireless networks, in the cities they serve. I have mentioned to our friend several times that ATT barely finished about Sprint in that survey and had poor ratings for dropped calls. As you can imagine, that was never addressed.

It would be a waste of time to remind some people that CDMA and GSM were always supposed to come together at some point and that we are quite a ways from VZW using LTE. The good news is that when they do switch, they can use their current towers and in short order their coverage of GSM/LTE will be better than ATT once again!

Thanks, but I know about the block they bought. Doesn’t matter though if they don’t have it out there for offer though, which is my point to hellidiot once again. Why throw crap out there if its useless?

I think you better once and for all learn and listen before posting and making everyone know your a grandstanding ignoramus who is RIMarkables resident troll with poop in your underpants.

“When Alltel acquired Western Wireless in 2005, it gained a large GSM footprint as well. While it does not offer GSM service to its own customers, Alltel has indicated that it will continue to maintain the GSM footprint and perhaps even expand it to provide roaming service to GSM users of other wireless carriers. Although, as of April 1, 2007, Alltel no longer maintains the GSM footprint in the coverage area it acquired from First Cellular of Southern Illinois.[citation needed] They required previous GSM customers in the affected areas to obtain a new phone and contract.”

Take a seat in the back of the class boy and put on the idiot hat with the name bluehorseshoe embroidered into it. Yet again those in the Know are posting the TRUTH, FACTS, and REALITY to little ignorant bluehorseshoe and his poop filled pants.

I will say that the Epocrates program for doctors will go over very well. I know a few doctors and they all have iPhones. It may be anecdotal, but I do think that quite a few doctors fancy their iPhones.

And the Epocrates program is one that can take advantage of that beautiful screen on the iPhone. That is one example of an app that will just work better on the iPhone than anything else at this point.

As others have pointed out, including “hellno”…the iPhone has a tremendous advantage in being a handheld computing platform masquerading as a cell phone. It actually was a stroke of genius from Steve Jobs to use the cell phone as a way to truly bring about the handheld computer revolution.

Combine that with the screen graphics capabilities, and that will make the iPhone the preferred device for certain applications.

That GSM block is just a nice cash cow for Alltel. As you pointed out, they do not offer it to customers. It is for other carriers. They have analog they offer for roaming and make a ton of money from roaming agreements with other carriers for CDMA. They are strong in more rural areas and really help carriers fill in their gaps.Another thing they offer that is nice is that they have EVDO in rural cities that would be without high speed wireless otherwise.

Funny sidebar, I used to sell 1xRTT against EDGE and win most of the time because while EDGE had a max of 384, that required you to grab the lions share of bandwidth off a tower and the Cingular devices were throttled and usually could not grab all the “Pipes” needed to get the 384 speed.

Regarding Alltel, I was checking out the site and oddly enough, when I enter my zip code, no phones appear. After selecting the Pearl as a phone on the front page to bypass the phone link, I was asked for my zip code. I entered it in and whala…”Sorry, we do not offer any service for your chosen carrier in zip code”. I’m in the 7th largest city in the US. What gives?

You’re absolutely right it has certain advantages, and I don’t think that many will argue the fact that it has a nice future ahead of it with some tweaks here and there (battery swap, enterprise email, physical keyboard (corp. models?), camera-less version, etc.). Then again, how many phones out there are practically running their OS on the phone? Mircosoft doesn’t count although I find it to crash as often as their desktop OS when heavily tasked. 🙂

It’s a solid choice for the consumer world. Some businesses are going to hop on as well, just like some consumers are grabbing BB’s for other reasons. If the iPhone provided me with the features mentioned above, along with top security and the ability to tether with 3G capability on a solid network, then I’d be on the bandwagon as well. I love the browser and what it can do…that’s something that nobody out there comes close to. And if Apple can integrate the ability to edit word, excel and powerpoint documents, then we’re really talking.

Another thing that I do like about the Apple is the ability for older folks to visual see it better for use. If it wasn’t for the keyboard, my parents were going to get one. It was just too difficult for them to hit the key they wanted to hit correctly. A physical keyboard along with the nice front screen I think would certainly appeak to those with poor vision.

Alltel is not everywhere. Defintely regional. Based in Little Rock with big presence in Carolinas, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Cleveland. Nothing in Atlanta either. Good carrier though. I lost more deals to them than any other carrier.

Gotta say I have thougt of switching to another service provider.. But VZW is the only cell service you can get in Metro tunnels in DC. No complaints on the device and wouldn’t change to anything else.

I had an iPhone when they first came out. I kept it about 2 weeks and then went back to my BB. The iPhone was (and still is) at great gadget, and had a lot of people asking “Is that an iPhone?” However, when it was all said and done, I wasn’t ready to part with my BB…here are a few reasons why.
1. I love BB’s flashing red light, to let you know you have a message/missed call….had to continually push the home screen on the iPhone….gets old.

2. Anyone who thinks BB battery life sucks, would crap and fall back in it if they had the iPhone….I was charging that damn thing nightly.

3. BB Messenger…can’t beat it for messaging.

4. The physical keyboard is a must for me. Although it is difficult to type while driving (and not encouraged) it is do-able…try that with the iPhone and you’ll land in your local ER or funeral home.

5. The iPhone is just too big and heavy to carry around in your shirt pocket, or any other pocket for that matter. Like the more streamlined BB.

6. Couldn’t stand the email layout on iPhone. BB is made for handling email. I’ve never had a problem configuring email to my BB. For one particular email address I had to configure the iPhone with one incoming server, and a differnt outgoing server..just to make it work. What a pain.

Because i hate iTunes, like really hate it alot. When I had an ipod I just stopped using it because I couldn’t bring myself to keep using iTunes. The last thing I want is to have to use iTunes even more…..

Well, here is another potential reason to consider sticking with your BB:

“Only one iPhone application can run at a time, and third-party applications never run in the background. This means that when users switch to another application, answer the phone, or check their email, the application they were using quits.”

The comments are interesting as well. It is this type of thing that leads me to not get too excited about the iPhone updates until I see them working. Until then, you just do not know what you are getting.

No joking, I was just typing that in as I read about that last night. Kind of takes away the point that its a handheld computer if everything has to close down when a call comes in or another application is being opened.

Its not that I do any heavy work on my BB, but if I were ever to switch over to an iPhone, it would defeat some of the tasks I would expect and want to do and accomplish.

It will take years for the enterprise market for the iPhone to properly develop; no one should expect Apple to all of a sudden get it perfect. But I do think that Apple has a long term plan and that over time the iPhone will make significant inroads in this market.

In the meantime RIM needs to keep doing what it does well, and then add to that.

Holy S**t There is a little man here who needs to get a life, little mr. Hellno needs to take his pill and find himself a girl. Is he in Junior high. I love my Pearl, and have an iPod, and love it, but have some very dissapointed friends who thought the iPhone could replace their BB. Not a chance in Hades. Very “pretty” device, lots of flash but useless for the business person. They have a long way to go and will possibly get there, but not for a long while, and to think that RIM won’t respond…. well then keep your iPod, err iPhone. hmmmmmm

1. I need the outages every quarter, it forces me to put down the device and pay attention to other things.
2. I like looking at the html tags in my email.
3. The BlackBerry browser is the best in the industry.
4. I like looking at the hour glass when moving around applications.
5. I like purchasing devices with dust under the screen.

Seriously, I have been using a BB since 1999 and switched to the iPhone for 7 months and just came back to the Pearl and a Ipod Touch. RIM cannot keep going the way they are or they will be in trouble. I hope the Apple SDK/Active Sync lights a fire under their butt.

So because your friends couldn’t make the iPhone work for them you are claiming it’s “useless for the business person”? Not sure but believe that’s somewhat shall we say incorrect, real life sure does not support that claim. Also do you somehow feel crap posting about someone else who posts his or her opinion makes you look like a smarter person? Just some things to think about as you grow up.

Marc Fogel,
You are so right, great post. Some/any objectivity and knowledge is becoming few and far between here at RIMarkable.

I am a recent “convert” from iPhone to BB Curve 8310. I really loved the iPhone for the “eye candy” and for many other things. It really is a neat gadget and it is fun to fiddle with. Browsing on the internet was nice, as well as loading my photos and music. 🙂 However, for my occupation in the medical field, the BB ended up being the better tool. I like that I can install applications such as epocrates drug database, calculate IV drip rates, etc, etc.. I also enjoy that my e-mail from my mac.com account, gmail.com account, etc, can all be viewed instantly in my messages folder as I receive my messages. I like that I can put in a 2GB micro SD card and store all of my music and photos for later viewing and listening. 🙂 All in all, while I enjoyed the iPhone, I am a happy convert to Blackberry.

I don’t know the needs of the rest of you, but i use my blackberry for email. Nothing beats it, it could go down once or twice a month and it is still miles ahead of others in that field.
I would buy the ipod touch before getting an iphone.

I agree with jonabyte, as I’ve said in another thread, I don’t have a BB yet but plan on getting the 8330 once it’s available for VZW (end of month?!)

I can however say why I won’t be getting an iPhone. 1. the obvious reason… I’m on VZW and don’t want to switch carriers… again… and more importantly reason #2. I like to keep my personal life (music) separate from my business life (email). I own an iPod and love it… I also own an iPod shuffle and love that too… it’s great for working out, running and biking (which I do a lot of). I don’t need a big iPhone with me while I run. 3. I connect my iPod to my car stereo… like hard-wire it… not the easy aux imput but the through the back of the stereo input. I don’t want to have my cell phone connected that way to my stereo. If I get a call… I’d have to stop listening to music to take it. Whereas right now… I can just turn the volume down but keep listening to music in the background…

I think the iPhone doesn’t take drivers into consideration for that reason… I want to listen to music… but talk on the phone at the same time… if you have one device that does it all… where’s the compromise?

One more thing to note; which I think was mentioned once is that the iphone doesn’t provide any tactile feedback. This is important in so many ways; mainly:

Tactile feedback means you can’t “feel” your way around the device; its a giant glass with a button at the bottom. Unlike a BB or pretty much every other phone on the market; they have at a minimum a ‘call’ and ‘end’ key. If you get a call on the iphone, you have to look at the screen and then point in a specific place to answer the call, its a great time waster on a *phone*, its okay on a media player that has different usage pattern.

The other thing is the keyboard. I cannot thumb type on it like I can on my (current) qwerty device….so it really can’t do what BB is made to do from the start.

If you watched the keynote where Jobs introduced the device, it was apparent that to use the device effectively; you need both hands. One to hold it, one to tap, and I don’t see how that can improve productivity over the Pearl that can be used very effectively by one hand.

I won’t bother repeating what others have said regarding the IT/enterprise features of BB; just wanted to point out that a giant glass with a button != keyboard (or productivity).

[…] imrankha wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI am sure that everyone is going to be talking about the iPhone SDK for some time to come and and certainly the doom and gloomers that think that the BlackBerry is about to go the way of the Palm Pilot. I know, for a fact, however, … […]

[…] imrankha wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI am sure that everyone is going to be talking about the iPhone SDK for some time to come and and certainly the doom and gloomers that think that the BlackBerry is about to go the way of the Palm Pilot. I know, for a fact, however, … […]